THE 13tH AND l4tH CENTURIES 
2% 
to suppose that he would have passed over in silence 
decisions which were unfavourable to his views. 
The case is different with Ziya Barni, who came of 
administrative stock,! and, as his personal narrative shows, 
was interested in agrarian matters. I think it is probable 
that he would have heard of, and duly recorded, any large 
change made by Balban, the only ruler in the second half 
of the century who is likely to have done anything of the 
kind; and his silence suggests that there was nothing to be 
told. However that may be, the only materials available 
for this century consist of incidental remarks, and one or 
two anecdotes. We see the peasantry supporting the 
kingdom by the revenue they furnished, and we read of 
rebellious, or defaulting, Chiefs being punished; but we 
are told nothing of the methods by which the revenue was 
assessed and collected, nor have I found any details bearing 
on the life of the peasants or their relations with their Chief. 
It is clear that Grants were freely given by the Kings, and 
that Assignments were common; as regards the former we 
have no particulars of interest, but something must be said 
of the assignment-system, the scope of which was in some 
respects wider than in some later periods. 
For practical purposes we must distinguish between small 
and large Assignments, both of which classes were described 
as 1qtd, and implied liability to military service. By small 
Assignments I mean those which were given to individual 
troopers, who were bound to present themselves, with horses 
and arms, whenever they were called up for service or in- 
spection. Their position can be illustrated by the story 
told of the ‘““Shamsi iqtadars” (Barni, 60, 61). Early in 
King Balban’s reign, reports were made to him regarding 
Assignments which had been allotted to about 2000 troopers 
in the time of Shamsuddin. Most of these men had become 
old or unfit for service. and the rest had come to terms with 
! Barni tells us (p. 248) that his father was ‘*Niib and Khwija’’ in the 
province of Baran: the duties of the Khwija at this period are not described, 
but the word Naib indicates that he was Deputy-Governor, or the second 
man in the province; and he retained a position there long enough for his 
son to acquire the soubriquet by which he is usually known. Barni does 
not tell us what positions he himself occupied, so probably he never rose 
very high; but in one passage (p. 504), he speaks of having been employed 
at headquarters for more than 17 vears under Muhammad Tughlaq